


Nightmares

by jacquelee



Series: Half A Moon 2021 [6]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stargate Atlantis Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:34:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29253018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacquelee/pseuds/jacquelee
Summary: Nora has a nightmare and when she goes to the mess hall to get herself some tea she finds out that she isn't the only one.
Relationships: Nora Darhk & Mona Wu
Series: Half A Moon 2021 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138847
Kudos: 1
Collections: Half a Moon: 14 Days of Celebrating Women





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [halfamoon](https://halfamoon.dreamwidth.org) for the Tarot card prompt The Moon (with the definition: Illusion, fear, anxiety, subconscious, intuition).

_It happened suddenly, just as it always had before, for what felt like Nora's whole life. One moment she was somewhere, doing something and then, suddenly, she was here, in this dark, desolate place, a blue hue surrounding her, suffocating her. She could feel the panic rising immediately, but she tried her best to calm herself down._

_This was not real. It couldn't be. Mallus was gone, this was just a dream, one of those dreams that she had had countless times before. But it felt different somehow, more real. She tried to wake herself up in the ways she knew had worked before, by saying to herself that it was a dream, by looking around her and noticing that her surroundings were blurry, surreal._

_But this time, neither helped. Telling herself that it was a dream didn't amount to anything and looking around she could without a doubt make out sharp, clear features of rocks and dead trees. And something else. Someone else. A dark figure coming for her. She thought about running, about trying to escape but she was rooted to the spot, panic rising in her chest, a panic that she was familiar with but hadn't felt in so long._

_The figure stopped right in front of her and she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself down, trying to stop the panic._

_"You are not real."_

_The figure, her, laughed, a sound so familiar and still so foreign. It was chilling to know that she ever sounded like that, that she ever looked like that, cold, broken. Gone._

_"Are you sure about that?"_

Nora woke up with a start, sitting up in bed, shivering, feeling the cold sweat on her back. That had been the most vivid nightmare she had had in years. It was incredibly unsettling, thinking about how it had felt to be back in that place, to feel helpless and hopeless. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, she decided to instead get up and go get some tea in the mess hall.

One look at the clock told her that it was still far too early for breakfast but the kitchen was always available for everyone to make themselves a warm beverage or a snack, no matter the time of night. 

Arriving there, she was a little surprised to see that she wasn't the only one to have a sleepless night apparently. By far. In the kitchen, she saw Mona, wearing what seemed like her usual bright smile as she handed out mugs to everyone who wanted one. And there were indeed many takers. When it was Nora's turn she got a cheerful hello with her mug, but she could tell that Mona's bright demeanor wasn't as effortless as usual. 

Nora invited Mona to sit with her and she agreed. It wasn't like everyone couldn't make themselves whatever they wanted, but Nora knew Mona liked having something to do, especially when she was anxious, which clearly seemed to be the case right now. She was just about to ask her what was wrong after they had sat down at their usual table when Zari and Charlie came up to them, Charlie carrying a mug and Zari a plate with pastries. 

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

Zari said it to no one in specific and Mona was the one who answered after a little pause of contemplation and a look around.

"I had a nightmare. Not like that never happens, but it was so vivid, it felt so real, I couldn't…" She trailed off and shrugged. "I couldn't fall asleep again or stay in my quarters, it just felt all wrong."

Nora squeezed her shoulder comfortingly and smiled at her sympathetically. 

"Me too. I was back in Mallus' realm, I met a version of me that…" Now it was her turn to trail off. "It felt far too real, so yeah, I get what you mean."

It wasn't like talking about these things came easy for her, but she knew she was safe here and she wanted to share with her friends. Mona looked at her with a mixture of compassion and understanding and when she smiled this time, it seemed far more genuine than before.

"Okay, this is weird, I had a really awful dream too and it also felt very real."

Zari frowned and looked over at Charlie who just nodded in confirmation. 

Before they could get into it more, Ava and Sara entered the mess hall, which was now quite full, an amount of people occupying the tables that would be expected for breakfast but not at four in the morning. They both seemed to have just come back from working out, their shirts sweaty and their hair wet and plastered around their faces. When they took in how crowded the mess hall was, they both frowned but continued on to their table, greeting the others a little hesitantly. 

Charlie was the one who broke the ensuing silence in which all of them were trying to make sense of the situation, as usual not one to hold back. 

"Let me guess, you also had nightmares and decided to work them off."

Both Sara and Ava looked at her surprised, but Sara nodded. 

"Yeah. Wait, what do you mean, also?"

Charlie gestured around the table and more broadly around the whole mess hall.

"Had a nightmare too, so did the others." She gestured around the table. "And I'd wager everyone else here too. Unless all of Atlantis just randomly decided that getting up in the middle of the night is the hot new trend."

Ava looked around and her frown deepened. 

"The whole city had nightmares? That cannot be a coincidence." Sara and her shared a concerned look before Ava went into Director mode. "Okay, Mona, Nora, you stay here and see if anyone needs help. Charlie, Zari, could you check up on everyone else in the city, see if everyone is accounted for and if there are other things going on than just everyone having nightmares? Also check the sensors if anything unusual is going on outside the city. Sara and I will go to the med-bay, see if Gideon can shed some light on whatever is going on here."

Everyone nodded, Charlie and Zari already having gotten up and on their way to the control room. Ava threw one last nod at Mona and Nora and then she and Sara headed to the med-bay. 

Nora sighed but then also got up and together with Mona started checking on the people in the mess hall, seeing if anyone needed moral support or anything more than just a warm beverage. 

The lingering fear of the nightmare was still there, but whatever this would turn out to be, she knew they would handle it. They always did.


End file.
